I hate being a student nurse, am I alone ? :(
Am I the only nursing student that hates my course ? I don't think I want to be a nurse anymore. I'm supposed to be at one of the most prestigious university's in the country yet the course is so disjointed and unbalanced that I'm in a constant state of confusion. We're constantly told that we need to adopt a professional attitude yet they demonstrate a lack of professionalism on a daily basis and abide by the rules when it suits them. It's such a load of bull****, is this what being a nurse is going to be like ?
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Thank God it's not just me ! I've waited years to get to uni and now I'm here I'm gutted 
I've had the confidence knocked right out of me and have been diagnosed with depression. I'm struggling to keep up with the demands of the course. I've been totally upfront with uni about it and despite being reassured that they'll do everything they can to support me, I've just had my tutor practically tell me to leave if I'm not up to it and remind me that I'm not the only one with kids, health issues, problems blah blah. It took all my self control not to tell her to stick it where the sun don't shine ! The compassion we're supposed to demonstrate at all times has been sorely lacking from the staff that constantly demand it. All I want is some understanding and a bit of support to get me back on track so I can get through the course but at this rate I don't think I'll even make it through the next term. Thank you for the prompt response x
I've had the confidence knocked right out of me and have been diagnosed with depression. I'm struggling to keep up with the demands of the course. I've been totally upfront with uni about it and despite being reassured that they'll do everything they can to support me, I've just had my tutor practically tell me to leave if I'm not up to it and remind me that I'm not the only one with kids, health issues, problems blah blah. It took all my self control not to tell her to stick it where the sun don't shine ! The compassion we're supposed to demonstrate at all times has been sorely lacking from the staff that constantly demand it. All I want is some understanding and a bit of support to get me back on track so I can get through the course but at this rate I don't think I'll even make it through the next term. Thank you for the prompt response x
I'm sure every nursing student had felt like this at one time or another and yes people do feel awful. I've met this kind of situation in my job and It does show you that even people in the most compassionate jobs can lack compassion!
If it makes your health worse and you aren't enjoying it don't punish yourself and make yourself stay.
If you are determined then push on through! It will be worth it and you will meet patients and staff alike who will make it all worthwhile too
Best of luck x
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If it makes your health worse and you aren't enjoying it don't punish yourself and make yourself stay.
If you are determined then push on through! It will be worth it and you will meet patients and staff alike who will make it all worthwhile too
Best of luck x
Posted from TSR Mobile
Thank you x
I've also found that the support they 'promise' doesn't materialise and you are expected to lump it and get on with it. I'm determined to succeed but it's really dented my motivation when I'm treated like a child/idiot when I am neither.
Basically you have to jump through the hoops, play the game and don't think outside the box
Basically you have to jump through the hoops, play the game and don't think outside the box
(edited 9 years ago)
Dear Lilibet, that's exactly the way I'm made to feel, like an incompetent child ! I was seriously beginning to doubt my abilities (despite my prior qualifications and experience) Hearing that other students have experienced the same situations and attitudes has been a relief. The descriptions of tutors and staff have been so similar to what I've witnessed it's uncanny so it can't just be me ! I guess I need to learn to play this game if I'm to succeed.
Thank you all very much x
Thank you all very much x
Original post by lovekiss15
Dear Lilibet, that's exactly the way I'm made to feel, like an incompetent child ! I was seriously beginning to doubt my abilities (despite my prior qualifications and experience) Hearing that other students have experienced the same situations and attitudes has been a relief. The descriptions of tutors and staff have been so similar to what I've witnessed it's uncanny so it can't just be me ! I guess I need to learn to play this game if I'm to succeed.
Thank you all very much x
Thank you all very much x
that's the spirit! It will be worth it in the end.
Original post by lilibet01
that's the spirit! It will be worth it in the end.
Thank you Lilibet, I'm hanging on in there
I don't know about what your course is like, I ended up doing a very academic degree course. But I think being a nurse is one of the most honorable occupations that one can fulfil. However, if you are at an early stage of your course, I appreciate just how difficult your situation may be, and I hope you can speak to someone like the head of your department to express your dissatisfactions.
I can honestly say being a student nurse has been the single most awful experience of my life! The Placements are hell! You spend most of your time kissing your mentors a*s so that they mark you fairly, Pretending like you care about something youve done a million times and above all get used as a skivvy, all whilst earning NOTHING. I am due to qualify soon and I am so put off the profession, I am dreadinging being a nurse. I am already exploring new career options. Long hours, crap pay and crap working conditions. If i could give any aspiring nurses a piece of advise it would be 'Do not become a nurse'!
Original post by lovekiss15
Am I the only nursing student that hates my course ? I don't think I want to be a nurse anymore. I'm supposed to be at one of the most prestigious university's in the country yet the course is so disjointed and unbalanced that I'm in a constant state of confusion. We're constantly told that we need to adopt a professional attitude yet they demonstrate a lack of professionalism on a daily basis and abide by the rules when it suits them. It's such a load of bull****, is this what being a nurse is going to be like ?
What uni?
I'm in my second year as a student mental health nurse and I agree with everything that has been said here, it's a complete farce. I decided to pursue a career mental health nursing for all the right reasons, only to have my enthusiasm and positivity knocked out of me with each placement.
The abuse of power, the disgusting way some nurses speak about patients and the way you get treated as a student nurse, it all makes me wonder why the hell I even bothered.
As you guys say, it's a big game, the uni lecturers know exactly how it is in practice. Yes, there are good nurses trying their best, but they're far outweighed by the cynical, negative down right nasty ones. Then there's the silent majority, who turn a blind eye to blatant bad practice.
If anyone reads this and thinks I'm negative, I'm far from it. I treat patients and colleagues with respect, manners and the dignity they deserve. I'm just completely flabbergasted at what the hell I'm getting myself into in this line of work, it's atrocious.
The abuse of power, the disgusting way some nurses speak about patients and the way you get treated as a student nurse, it all makes me wonder why the hell I even bothered.
As you guys say, it's a big game, the uni lecturers know exactly how it is in practice. Yes, there are good nurses trying their best, but they're far outweighed by the cynical, negative down right nasty ones. Then there's the silent majority, who turn a blind eye to blatant bad practice.
If anyone reads this and thinks I'm negative, I'm far from it. I treat patients and colleagues with respect, manners and the dignity they deserve. I'm just completely flabbergasted at what the hell I'm getting myself into in this line of work, it's atrocious.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by SadStudentNurse
I'm in my second year as a student mental health nurse and I agree with everything that has been said here, it's a complete farce. I decided to pursue a career mental health nursing for all the right reasons, only to have my enthusiasm and positivity knocked out of me with each placement.
The abuse of power, the disgusting way some nurses speak about patients and the way you get treated as a student nurse, it all makes me wonder why the hell I even bothered.
As you guys say, it's a big game, the uni lecturers know exactly how it is in practice. Yes, there are good nurses trying their best, but they're far outweighed by the cynical, negative down right nasty ones. Then there's the silent majority, who turn a blind eye to blatant bad practice.
If anyone reads this and thinks I'm negative, I'm far from it. I treat patients and colleagues with respect, manners and the dignity they deserve. I'm just completely flabbergasted at what the hell I'm getting myself into in this line of work, it's atrocious.
The abuse of power, the disgusting way some nurses speak about patients and the way you get treated as a student nurse, it all makes me wonder why the hell I even bothered.
As you guys say, it's a big game, the uni lecturers know exactly how it is in practice. Yes, there are good nurses trying their best, but they're far outweighed by the cynical, negative down right nasty ones. Then there's the silent majority, who turn a blind eye to blatant bad practice.
If anyone reads this and thinks I'm negative, I'm far from it. I treat patients and colleagues with respect, manners and the dignity they deserve. I'm just completely flabbergasted at what the hell I'm getting myself into in this line of work, it's atrocious.
Imo, this is what happens when you turn a profession that should be at least 90% placement based into a university degree. Nurses have a far more hands on role with patients than doctors. Most of their learning should be out interacting with patients like it was in the past. University has this nasty habit of giving people a bubble mentality and this is incredibly evident in nursing these days. HCAs, for example, play a very similar role to nurses these days but they aren't made to go to university are they? They mostly learn on the job. The government has done a massive disservice to a crucial area of the healthcare system by doing this.
Original post by Oligonucleotide
Imo, this is what happens when you turn a profession that should be at least 90% placement based into a university degree. Nurses have a far more hands on role with patients than doctors. Most of their learning should be out interacting with patients like it was in the past. University has this nasty habit of giving people a bubble mentality and this is incredibly evident in nursing these days. HCAs, for example, play a very similar role to nurses these days but they aren't made to go to university are they? They mostly learn on the job. The government has done a massive disservice to a crucial area of the healthcare system by doing this.
I think you've completely missed the point here, the posts aren't complaining about being hands on, or having to interact with the patients.
We fully understand and embrace what is required in regards to the learning on the job by experience. The patient contact is the best part of nursing imo.
The problem is how some nurses treat students, patients and colleagues. That isn't having 'a bubble mentality' it's a sad realisation that not all nurses treat the role with the professionalism and respect it deserves.
HCA's do a great job, but they aren't nurses, they can go to university and study for the underpinning knowledge behind good nursing care if they want to. We aren't 'made' to go to university, we choose to because we want to become competent professionals that actually make a difference to people who most need us.
Furthermore, the government have nothing to do with the issues highlighted here, we're talking about simple qualities such as respect, compassion, dignity and empathy that you would think are the heartbeat of any nurses practice.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by SadStudentNurse
I think you've completely missed the point here, the posts aren't complaining about being hands on, or having to interact with the patients.
We fully understand and embrace what is required in regards to the learning on the job by experience. The patient contact is the best part of nursing imo.
The problem is how some nurses treat students, patients and colleagues. That isn't having 'a bubble mentality' it's a sad realisation that not all nurses treat the role with the professionalism and respect it deserves.
HCA's do a great job, but they aren't nurses, they can go to university and study for the underpinning knowledge behind good nursing care if they want to. We aren't 'made' to go to university, we choose to because we want to become competent professionals that actually make a difference to people who most need us.
Furthermore, the government have nothing to do with the issues highlighted here, we're talking about simple qualities such as respect, compassion, dignity and empathy that you would think are the heartbeat of any nurses practice.
We fully understand and embrace what is required in regards to the learning on the job by experience. The patient contact is the best part of nursing imo.
The problem is how some nurses treat students, patients and colleagues. That isn't having 'a bubble mentality' it's a sad realisation that not all nurses treat the role with the professionalism and respect it deserves.
HCA's do a great job, but they aren't nurses, they can go to university and study for the underpinning knowledge behind good nursing care if they want to. We aren't 'made' to go to university, we choose to because we want to become competent professionals that actually make a difference to people who most need us.
Furthermore, the government have nothing to do with the issues highlighted here, we're talking about simple qualities such as respect, compassion, dignity and empathy that you would think are the heartbeat of any nurses practice.
This was less of a problem in the pre-degree days. How can you expect people who are in a profession where they interact with patients everyday, to actually be able to develop the interpersonal skills if they spend most of their time at university doing paperwork? Let's not forget the issue of people who clearly aren't suited to nursing being able to get onto a degree and then call themselves a nurse at the end, even if they don't act like one. Jerk nurses have always existed so I don't see what the point of this thread is if it's only about complaining that some people don't have the interpersonal qualities expected from a nurse.
Making nursing a university degree has been a massive disservice to everyone involved. I can't see any overall advantage that has been gained except people developing the complex that just because they have a nursing certificate, they can call themselves a nurse, even if they can't be bothered to act like one.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by SadStudentNurse
I'm in my second year as a student mental health nurse and I agree with everything that has been said here, it's a complete farce. I decided to pursue a career mental health nursing for all the right reasons, only to have my enthusiasm and positivity knocked out of me with each placement.
The abuse of power, the disgusting way some nurses speak about patients and the way you get treated as a student nurse, it all makes me wonder why the hell I even bothered.
As you guys say, it's a big game, the uni lecturers know exactly how it is in practice. Yes, there are good nurses trying their best, but they're far outweighed by the cynical, negative down right nasty ones. Then there's the silent majority, who turn a blind eye to blatant bad practice.
If anyone reads this and thinks I'm negative, I'm far from it. I treat patients and colleagues with respect, manners and the dignity they deserve. I'm just completely flabbergasted at what the hell I'm getting myself into in this line of work, it's atrocious.
The abuse of power, the disgusting way some nurses speak about patients and the way you get treated as a student nurse, it all makes me wonder why the hell I even bothered.
As you guys say, it's a big game, the uni lecturers know exactly how it is in practice. Yes, there are good nurses trying their best, but they're far outweighed by the cynical, negative down right nasty ones. Then there's the silent majority, who turn a blind eye to blatant bad practice.
If anyone reads this and thinks I'm negative, I'm far from it. I treat patients and colleagues with respect, manners and the dignity they deserve. I'm just completely flabbergasted at what the hell I'm getting myself into in this line of work, it's atrocious.
I couldn’t have agreed with this more, I’m a first year student finishing my second placement next week at one of the best if not the best children’s hospital in the country..😶 I am shocked by the way the nurses speak about the patients, in handover or even at the nursing station when their rooms are literally feet away.
I have been lucky that both of my mentors are amazing but the way I have been treated by some of the other nurses is awful, particularly the abuse of power like you said. Nurses sitting on their phones literally doing nothing then asking me to do their obs for their patients, they know a student isn’t going to say ‘No I’m not going to do your obs, as they will obviously get in trouble.’
I have no problem helping other people out with obs or other tasks. But when I’m doing obs for my mentors patients and you’re sitting on your phone doing absolutely nothing, then you ask me to do yours because you’re too lazy and know I cannot say no, it’s takes the mick. I get spoken to like I’m incompetent by certain nurses, I help them find things they need by going to wards on the other side of the hospital and don’t even get a thank you when I return. Many of the nurses carry out bad practice and take great offence if this is brought up, I do feel disheartened by it but I am going to carry on with it and see how it goes.
Original post by lovekiss15
Am I the only nursing student that hates my course ? I don't think I want to be a nurse anymore. I'm supposed to be at one of the most prestigious university's in the country yet the course is so disjointed and unbalanced that I'm in a constant state of confusion. We're constantly told that we need to adopt a professional attitude yet they demonstrate a lack of professionalism on a daily basis and abide by the rules when it suits them. It's such a load of bull****, is this what being a nurse is going to be like ?
what uni do you go to
If there's one positive to take from how we're treated at times as student nurses, it's that when we qualify and undertake our mentorship. Let's make sure any students we come into contact get treated how we should have.
I will share my knowledge, build them up and encourage their development. Praise their enthusiasm and include them in as much as I can to increase their confidence.
'Those who have true power share it, while those who hunger power abuse it'
I will share my knowledge, build them up and encourage their development. Praise their enthusiasm and include them in as much as I can to increase their confidence.
'Those who have true power share it, while those who hunger power abuse it'
Original post by samuniversitys
I can honestly say being a student nurse has been the single most awful experience of my life! The Placements are hell! You spend most of your time kissing your mentors a*s so that they mark you fairly, Pretending like you care about something youve done a million times and above all get used as a skivvy, all whilst earning NOTHING. I am due to qualify soon and I am so put off the profession, I am dreadinging being a nurse. I am already exploring new career options. Long hours, crap pay and crap working conditions. If i could give any aspiring nurses a piece of advise it would be 'Do not become a nurse'!
But there is so much you can do with a nursing degree you can even travel elsewhere and do nursing
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